It is not only the flavour and presentation, but also the health benefits to diners of his food – particularly his soups – that concern Kelvin Au Yeung, executive chef of three-Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurant Jade Dragon in Macau’s City of Dreams integrated resort, when he creates his menus.
“Some customers call me in advance to let me know the different foods that they are craving and those that they need to avoid,” he says. “For example, if I know that a customer has a lot of ‘heat’ in the body, I will avoid serving deep-fried dishes and I will think of a soup that can lower the ‘heat’ and detoxify the body.”
Soup forms an essential part of Cantonese cuisine, as southern Chinese people believe that it provides an elevated way to nourish one’s health and even heal ailments. Ingredients believed to have remedial power such as plants and dried herbs are often incorporated.
Whenever he needs expert knowledge, Au Yeung turns to Cheong Weng Heng, who is a Macau-based Qihuang Young Scholar, a title bestowed by the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which recognises excellence in clinical practice and studies of the discipline.
The concept of this alternative type of medicine, which is thousands of years old, is that qi – a vital form of energy, or “life force” – surges throughout the human body. Any imbalance can cause disease and illness, so TCM aims to restore this balance through different treatments including herbal remedies, acupuncture and massage.
“TCM is not just about getting a prescription of herbal medicine when you are falling ill,” Cheong, executive director of ChengMio Medical Centre, says. “It can be part of our everyday life. It’s about considering how everything we eat in a meal can benefit our body.”
One TCM theory is that the body has an internal climate and it can experience an excessively “heaty” phase or “chilly” phase. Humidity can also be “trapped” inside the body sometimes.
Cheong says that just like when cooking recipes, there is seasonality to TCM concoctions. “In TCM, there is a common saying ‘nature and humans in harmony’, which explains the belief that consuming produce that is in season is beneficial for health,” he says.
“Seasonal produce helps us acclimatise to the external environment. At the same time, we pick seasonal herbal medicine to help our body adjust to the climate.”
Yet unlike when taking herbal tea to treat a specific ailment, incorporating herbal medicine into a dish is about achieving balance, so the dosage is much milder.
One of this summer’s soup recipes that Au Yeung has created is double-boiled broth with duck, dendrobium (a type of orchid) stem and air-dried wild chrysanthemum.
“Dendrobium cools down and detoxifies the body, but it also has a bitter taste, so the dosage needs to be light,” Au Yeung says.
“Chrysanthemum cleanses the liver and sharpens the eyesight, and it has a sweet scent. The two balance one another. The duck has a distinct umami to it, so that’s the only meat we need for this recipe.”
The chef also likes using the double-boiling technique – which involves placing a sealed ceramic pot containing all the ingredients along with cold water in a steamer or hot bath. As the heat permeates the container, it gently cooks the soup.
“Unlike boiling with direct flame, where you will see vaporisation, double-boiling has all the nutrients kept inside the pot, and the soup is also more soothing and less ‘heaty’,” he says.
Watch the video to find out more about how TCM can elevate the art of Chinese soup making.
